Rubio defends Maduro takedown, says diplomacy failed and time had run out

Secretary of State Marco Rubio defended President Donald Trump’s Venezuela policy Wednesday, telling lawmakers that negotiations with Venezuelan strongman Nicolas Maduro had repeatedly failed and that the administration exhausted every diplomatic option before acting to arrest him.

Rubio appeared before the Senate following the Jan. 3 operation that resulted in Maduro’s removal, a move that triggered sharp debate over presidential war powers and congressional oversight.

‘For the first time in 20 years, we are having serious counter-narcotics talks with Venezuelan authorities about going after narcotics organizations,’

According to Rubio, Maduro proved incapable of honoring agreements, making continued negotiations futile.

“He’s broken so many deals, not even the Vatican has been willing to interact with Maduro in the past because he’s broken so many of these deals,” Rubio said. “He’s